“He didn’t know when he’d return. It was a promise he couldn’t keep to her.”

Forest’s failure to keep his promises to Iris become the driving force behind her insecurity that all her loved ones will eventually abandon her. Her insecurity is challenged when Roman decides to stay by Iris’s side when the war comes to Avalon Bluff, instead of fleeing to safety.

“Iris thought about all the headlines Zeb had published about the war. They screamed things like THE DANGERS OF ENVA’S MUSIC: THE SKYWARD GODDESS HAS RETURNED AND SINGS OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO WAR or RESIST THE SIREN’S CALL TO WAR: ENVA IS OUR MOST DANGEROUS THREAT. ALL STRINGED INSTRUMENTS ARE OUTLAWED IN OATH.”

The headlines presented in this passage highlight The Dangers of Censorship and the pivotal role that the media plays in building the narratives that reach local citizens. The unethical journalism at play in Oath is harmful and destructive, for it only endorses the ignorance and apathy of its citizens and encourages people to disregard the plight of those fighting for their lives in the west.

“She knew how to tamp down the anxious feelings that were boiling within her. It was currently hiding beneath her bed—the typewriter her Nan had once created poetry with. The typewriter Iris had inherited and had since been using to write to This isn’t Forest.”

Iris’s relationship with her typewriter as a method of expunging her suppressed and anxious emotions foreshadows the relationship that she will develop with Roman. Just like the act of writing itself, Roman also serves as a valuable emotional outlet for her thoughts, fears, and desires, for he is the first person since the loss of her mother and brother that she finds safe enough to confide in.